Young Writers Society

In the depths of woods abandoned long ago, a forgotten restaurant sleeps. It was built on the side of a river that cut through the forest. A deck overlooks the waters gurgling beneath the lowest floor, and a small, overgrown path leads to the stream's shore. This path mirrors the state of the cracked asphalt road that leads away from the old building into the forest beyond. Things scurry about in the dark brush; they move too quickly to be clearly identified. Above it all is a bright full moon, casting eerie shadows on the world beneath as clouds continuously cover it.

The inside of the building is just as decrepit as its exterior. Its paint has chipped and fallen to the ground. Its few carpets have mysterious, dark stains on them, and its wooden floors creak underneath footsteps that don't exist. Other noises fill the halls - laughter, screams and crying echo on every floor. You can try to leave the building, but the forest is endless and easily to be lost in. You will always find yourself back on the doorstep no matter where you try to go.

It seems the only way to survive this ordeal is to stay through the night and appease the desires of the spirits that call this place home.





1.) Your character has been mysteriously brought to this location by an unknown force. As the description says, they can't leave. Trying to slip away into the forest will result in you inevitably ending up back on the doorstep - whether it's by supernatural means or just straight out terror.

2.) The hotel, river and surrounding forest are all haunted. Ghosts have certain rules here, so it would be really helpful if you could let me know what you want to add instead of adding it right away. It'll also help me avoid any awkward situations where I have one thing planned and another thing happens instead

3.) You can have as many characters as you want.

4.) Have fun!

When he awoke, he found himself on the banks of a gurgling stream. A figure - dressed in dark, intimidating clothing - was leaning over him, giving him a poke or two in the face. He groggily raised a hand up and stopped the man in the middle of the act. All it took was grabbing him by the wrist to get him to pause, and then the man took a quick step back. It was almost like he was embarrassed for invading his personal space, but Griffith couldn't understand why.

Then he saw the looming, old building before them, and he let out a soft groan underneath his breath.

Of course it was another situation like this.

Of course.

He turned his attention back to the mysterious, strange man as he got back to his feet. The man watched him with the attentiveness of a small child, gaze shifting to every body part he moved. The man tilted his head to the side ever so slightly when he heard the groan.

"I don't like places like this," Griffith explained. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth, either. Hopefully it was just an abandoned building and not something more sinister.

The man thought for the moment, then nodded.

He raised a hand up.

"It's creepy," he said. It took him a moment to realize that no words had ever been spoken - the man had signed the message. Griffith nodded in agreement. The moment his head began to go down, the man's eyes became alight with joy. He gave a little jump as he bridged the distance between them.

"You can talk to me!" he excitedly signed, hands moving so quickly that even Griffith struggled to keep up with him. He promptly grabbed onto Griffith's arm. The sudden touch was surprising, but it wasn't entirely unwelcome. He really did remind him of a child, whoever he was. "I'm glad you're here. You seem nice, and I'm not as scared when someone can talk to me."

Griffith gave him a small smile. "I'm glad I can make you feel better. I'm Griffith."

"K-I-R-U-X," the man spelled in reply. His gaze turned to the building before them, and his signing grew small and hesitant. "Are we...are we going towards the building?"

"I think we have to," Griffith said, letting out a quiet sigh. He started to lead Kirux towards the path before them, walking up cracked stone steps towards the doorsteps that led out onto asphalt. "It's alright - ghosts don't exist. As long as we make sure the floor is going to collapse, we should be safe."

Kirux nodded. "No ghosts," he confidently signed, only to falter when they arrived at the door. Soon, Griffith found that he was being used as a shield instead of comfort - Kirux was cowering behind him in an almost comical way as he went to knock on the door.

Nich followed after Ethan with a smile, trusting his boyfriend not to lead them astray. It wouldn't be good if they got lost, not when Nich's Sire and his siblings were still around. The older vampire had taken Ciaran's claim over Nich very badly. He blamed it all on Nich's lack of a mentor over the years, despite the fact that Nich had be fine on his own, thank you very much, and hadn't needed a guardian. Or a guard. He sighed, and was jolted forwards when Ethan tugged on their linked hands.

"You seem distracted, Nich," Ethan said, brown eyes wide and innocent-looking. Nich knew it was a lie, though. "Something on your mind?"

He snorted. "Just wondering why you're suddenly so obsessed with this run-down old building all the way out here."

"I told you! It's haunted!" Ethan released his hand to throw both of his own up into the air. He seemed to be frustrated with him, and Nich wasn't inclined to change his mind. "There's probably ghosts! Don't you wanna test your abilities?"

"I think I've tested them enough in the last few months, Ethan."

His boyfriend pouted at him and then darted off into the trees. "You can test it a few more times then!" Ethan called from somewhere just out of sight. Nich sighed and darted after him. "Come on, come and find me!"

"Now is not the time to play hide and seek, Ethan!"

All he got in reply to that was wild, happy laughter. Nich resigned himself to following the odd little noises Ethan made, from snapping twigs to little giggles, to the ocasionaly gasp--and then the sudden inhale as Ethan collided with a tree. Nich was on him as soon as Ethan stopped, pressing him back into the tree with a grin.

"About time you caught up to me," Ethan panted, grinnig back. "You're getting slow in your old age, grandpa."

Nich snorted. "Says the dhampir to the vampire."

Ethan's grin grew. "Feeling a little better about this now?"

"Maybe." He shrugged and leaned in to skim his noise up Ethan's throat. "We'll have to give it a bit longer before we know for sure."

"Sure," the dhampir muttered and chuckled, squirming against the tree. Nich sighed again and pressed closer, but then Ethan went very still and he pulled back to see his face. Ethan was staring off to his left, eyes wide and mouth open. "Nich... There's..."

"Ethan?"

"There's a building over there!" Ethan gestured in the appropriate direction with his chin. "And people! Let's go say hi!"

"Oh my god, Ethan, no."

But it was too late; Ethan shoved him back with more strength than he appeared to have and darted off into the trees again. Nich just exhaled heavily and followed after him, not sure if he wanted to meet these people or go anywhere near the building. Not that he had a choice anymore, apparently.

As he approached, he could make out the sound of a gurgling stream nearby and Ethan's figure standing still at the base of the steps. There were two more figures on the steps before the door. One was wearing a long jacket and the other carried a messenger bag. They were both taller than him and Ethan. The jacket-wearing one seemed to be hiding from the door behind the taller one.

"Uh, hi?" Ethan asked just as Nich stepped up beside him. Nich cast him a sideways glance and then focused on the two strangers. "Hellooooo? We, uh, just found this place. I'm Ethan." He gestured to Nich. "And this is Nich, my boyfriend. Who're you guys?"

Carter took up the lead through the forest, holding his pistol and flashlight in front of them to guide, and leaving the crowbar in its makeshift holster. It was rather unfortunate that no one had invented a proper crowbar holster for hunters yet. If people would have just capitalized on the needs of hunters, it would be a very different and accessible business.

But whenever these thoughts ran through his mind, Bear was there to remind Carter that people would have to know about the existence of hunters and supernatural creatures.

"Carter, how much further to this gosh darn place? And why couldn't we have just taken the truck?"

Carter barely heard Bear as he had already pulled their minimal squad to a stop at the edge of a river. He could feel the magic of the breach vibrating off of the area and the faintest light ran through the trees near the position of the rickety bridge. Crossing through the glow should bring them into the domain that surrounded the building. A little glimpse of its outline was visible in the distance from what was left of the moon.

"Carter? Did you hear me at all or are you just going to keep staring at the trees?"
"Hush. I'm trying to hear the vibrations of magic around the bridge."
He heard Bear sigh as the man asked, "And do I want to know why you're listening to the magic?"
"I'm making sure it doesn't tear us apart once we step over the boundary, you butt."

It wasn't the best insult.

And Carter certainly had stronger words on his mind, but part of the charm of the forest seemed to be restricting those harsher words. Just what he needed from ghosts that wanted to kill the pair already.

Bear didn't object further as Carter stood silently at the threshold. He waited a few more minutes before declaring, "It should be alright."
"Should?"
"Yes. Just hold on to my arm the entire time because I might need to wrap the force around us a bit."

They carefully stepped through the breach, arms linked together, and came out entirely intact on the other side. However the portal had not come out on the other side of the bridge, instead launching them across the field to be standing on the front step. Carter hadn't felt that kind of distance involved in the portal and now stared at the door bell which Bear's finger tip had gravitated to.

"What, Carter? I might as well ring the door bell to see what happens."
"That's...fair. Have the shot gun ready?"
"Yeah. I'll give the ghosts a minute to get up from the living room and answer the door."

And so they stood, waiting for the door to be opened by one or another spirit lying in wait. After five minutes and slight glances exchanged, Carter holstered his pistol and took the crow bar from the sling on his back. His left combat boot struck the handle, jarring it enough for the door to swing open and reveal four ghostly forms. They scattered in the aftermath of the impact but the light shone through to the opposite doorway revealing another grouping. Against the dull yellow glass he couldn’t see much but Carter gathered they were more solid.

Carter started stepped through first, flashlight and crowbar in hand, quickly followed by Bear toting a shotgun and the flames in his eyes alight. Just as Carter was about to question the presence of other people on the same premises to Bear, he spotted a line of runes around the new door he was standing in front of.

“Bear, don’t let that door close!”

He heard the quick bang and Bear’s exclamations of disgust.

It was too late but Carter still turned about, rushing with some hope that he might be able to draw it back with his powers. But even as he pulled on it with the strength of his mind, the door remained stuck and the handle burned into his skin. Carter turned back to see Bear standing in the middle of the room, shrugging his shoulders and offering a meek, "Sorry about that. What’s the big deal, Carter?”
“We’re locked in. By magic. And there’s a tall group of strangers on the other door step.”
“Are you willing to wager on if they’re dark and handsome?”

Kirux did his best impression of a scream when he suddenly heard the two voices from behind him - he jumped and hurried around Griffith's other side, still determined to use him as a form of protection. His hands shook as they held onto Griffith's shoulders.

But Griffith didn't seem scared. In fact, he seemed like he was watching the two of them. He couldn't tell what Griffith was looking for, but it did seem like he was searching for something by the way his gaze drifted between the two.

Kirux knew he probably should have been doing the same, but he was too nervous to. He couldn't even muster the courage to make his keyblade appear.

"I'm Griffith," Griffith said. He pointed behind him at Kirux, who gave a shy and terrified wave in response. "And this is Kirux-"

Kirux really had been trying to brave, but, at that moment, he heard noises from within the building. And seeing that the building looked very, very old, and like it wasn't supposed to have people anymore, he immediately bolted away from the door. He didn't take shelter behind the newcomers - he didn't feel as safe around them as he felt around Griffith.

But he did stand a short distance away when he finally came to a stop.

"There's something in there!" he frantically signed, pointing at the door with his free hand. "I heard moving and people talking!"

Griffith glanced back at the door. "You did?"

Kirux hurriedly nodded. "I think they're-" He faltered, hands trembling too much for him to easily sign the word. Then he took a very unsteady breath and finished with, "-ghosts!"

Griffith's gaze traveled to the door again. "Ghosts don't exist," he said, but something in his tone made him not sound as certain. Kirux shook his head. They did exist! Winnie had said they did, which meant they had to.

Griffith took a step forward and opened the door.

Kirux instinctively covered his eyes with his hands.

But no screaming followed the decision, and no cries of pain, so he hesitantly pulled away the hand covering his green eye to see what Griffith had seen when he opened the door.

And immediately found himself looking at two very intimidating men, both of whom made him dart behind Griffith again even as Griffith got closer to the open doorway.

Taber yawned, pulling himself up. Then he winced, feeling his back creak and ache - he felt like he'd been sleeping on a cold floor. Had he fallen off the bed again?

Opening one eye, Taber was more than a little surprised at how little he could see. It should've been morning - he rarely woke up in the middle of the night - but everything looked pitch black. He wondered if he was doing that thing where he hadn't quite woken up, and so decided to lay back down on the ground.

Which was about when he noticed knives dangling off of hooks above him.

Taber froze, eyes adjusting to the dark room and catching just how long those blades were. Where he was he? How had he woken up here? Was this some kind of dream? Even his nightmares weren't this weird - normally he'd just lose a limb, or lose control of his body, or something else immediate and violent.

Wait, was this another one of those "other world" situations he kept running into?

And then a knife fell off its handle, hurtling towards his face. Taber screamed and began to roll out of the way, only for a paw to snatch the dagger out of the air.

"Whoever designed this kitchen was a moron," said a familiar voice. Taber, now on his side, glanced back to see a pile of black robes billowing by one of the counters.

"Tact?" Taber said.

Setting the knife on a counter, Tact reached a paw down. "In the flesh," they said.

Grabbing the paw and a table, Taber hauled himself onto his feet and wrapped Tact in a huge. "It's so good to see you again!" Taber said, setting Tact back down.

Taking a couple deep breaths, Tact winced and nodded. "Good to see you as well."

"Where are we?" Taber said. He glanced around at the knives and other utensils littering the floor and counters, as well as the strange equipment set into the wall. At least the counters, sacks of moldy potatoes, and knives were familiar. "Is this a kitchen?"

"It appears so," Tact said. They pointed to the back door. "Not any kitchen I am familiar with, however. And we appear to have company somewhere else in this building."

Taber shuffled his feet. "Should we go meet them?" he said, hesitation in his voice. He hadn't had any problems meeting strangers in the past, but he'd rarely been in a place that felt so hostile as this one. Everything around him gave him the chills. The air gave him the chills.

"I think we should let them come to us," Tact said. They pulled themselves onto a counter and began plucking more knives off of the ceiling. "I would rather be prepared for a fight in a place we can be slightly more familiar with."

Ethan glanced between the pair and nodded. Nich, on the other hand, was hanging back, which was unusual for him. "We're not gonna hurt you or anything... Right, Nich?" He glanced back to find Nich frowning at the slightly shorter of the two. "Nich?"

"You seem familiar," he said, and then moved to join Ethan. "And did you just say ghosts, Griffith?"

At that moment, a blast of cold air hit him full in the face and Nich flinched back. He muttered something about pesky spirits in his native language, and then scanned the area. Hovering just above the ground several feet to his left was a woman, all paleness and shadows. He gave her a nod to acknowledge her and returned his attention to Ethan, Kirux and Griffith.

"Nevermind," Nich said and crossed his arms over his chest. "What's with the building?"

And then Griffith opened the door and there were two tall, intimidating men standing just inside the building. Nich blinked and blurred forwards to grab Ethan and yank him back away from the door.

Carter turned about to Bear to give an over dramatic sigh and a lasting glare. The jokes never bothered him but the timing was rather inconvenient. Bear was the one known to flirt and Carter was the one to insult, and neither of those options was appropriate for the time being.

He lifted up his left hand, slicing through the tension of the air with silver painted nail, and carefully felt around for the number of bodies. There were four solid figures in front of them at the door, but a fair amount of disturbances in the other direction.

To be expected with a haunted ghost hotel.

The door suddenly popped open, someone started to run in, and then was quickly pulled back out of the line of sight. Bear picked up his shotgun, popped in a shell, and fired a warning shot into the chandelier.

"Who goes there?"

Carter quickly stepped in front of him, adding on to the statement with, "It's a lot easier for you to come out now than us having to hunt you down to have a talk. For your own good, reveal yourselves now."

Kirux ducked further behind Griffith, terror clearly written across the little parts of his face that would have been visible if he wasn't hidden behind Griffith. But his newfound friend suddenly moved, leaving him awkwardly standing without any sort of cover.

Eyes widening in horror, he spun around to see where Griffith had gone.

He found him staring at air right beside the two people behind them. He had gone pale - really pale - and looked like he had seen a ghost. And then the loud noise rang out from within in the building as the two men in the doorway issued a threat, and Kirux promptly crouched on the ground with his hands covering his ears.

Even when the noise rang out, Griffith continued to stare into nothingness.

I want to go home! Kirux desperately thought. Why couldn't he make a corridor sooner?

Tact flinched when they heard the gunshot, almost letting go of the knives they were holding in the process. They were a little more unprepared than they'd thought.

"Change in plans," they said, hopping down from the counter. "Taber, see if you can grab some boxes and prop them against the doors. If there is any string or rope that we could use, that would also be nice."

Taber hesitated, but the gunshot had obviously affected him too - he quietly started hauling boxes of rotting food and sacks of potatoes to the back door, while Tact wandered around the room. Some spots would be great for hiding, some spots would be great for surprise attacks - Tact wasn't quite sure what plan to act on.

Nich flinched at the gunshot and clung to Ethan, half-turning to shield him from the two aggressive men in the building. He wasn’t sure what they wanted but he wasn’t going to risk Ethan to find that out. Elizabeth had drifted closer and Griffith appeared to be staring right at him, pale and shocked. Nich glanced between them. Huh, he thought, that’s interesting.

”I think he can see me,” she said, drifting even closer. She brushed against Nich and then floated right up into Griffith’s face to wave a hand in front of his eyes. ”One would think he’d never seen a ghost before.”

“Elizabeth,” Nich hissed, still not quite looking at her. “Not now.”

Ethan perked up at the mention of the ghost’s name. “She’s here?” he whispered, twisting in Nich’s arms to try and get a glimpse of her. Not that he could really see her in the first place. “Where?”

Nich gave him a little shake. “Not right now, Ethan. Later.” He cleated his throat and raised his voice. “We’re not here to bother anyone! I promise, we’re just lost.”

Griffith jerked back the moment the ghost started waving her hand in front of his face, only to trip over his own two feet and going falling to the ground in a heap beside Kirux - who was apparently was on the verge of assuming the fetal position.

In response to the sudden noise, Kirux jumped up in surprise and scrambled away from Griffith...

...only to hurry back over to him the moment he realized what the noise had come from and threw his arms around Griffith. Griffith was torn between being startled by Kirux's affection or the fact that he had almost been discovered.

Then again, at least part of his lie wasn't holding up - he had reacted to the ghost, who he couldn't stop staring at.

In the midst of the scuffle going on, half on the porch and half nearing entering the inside, Bear barrelled towards the barely propped door. If he could wedge it open enough to keep the force of the house from closing the door again, they might have a chance of escaping.

Carter followed close behind, iron crowbar held over his shoulder and he surveyed the scene that they were looking out onto. Several piles of humanoid figures laid on the porch, in various states of trying to protect themselves, and an obvious fear for Bear's presence.

"Now Bear, why'd you have to go and shoot that gun?" Pointing the crowbar at the crowd on the porch, Carter mildly gestured while saying, "You've scared the poor things half to death."

Carter placed his own foot next to Bear's in helping to hold the door open, and then leaned out of it slightly to say, "It's a pleasure to make ya'lls acquaintances, but y'all might not want to come into this house right now."

Griffith forced himself to stop focusing on the ghost, instead turning to the two within the building. He tried - and failed - to get out of Kirux's grip, instead having to settle for getting up with the other man still holding onto him.

"Why?" Griffith asked. He already knew the answer, even if he didn't want to accept it as the truth; it was haunted. He had already run into one ghost - why not make his luck even worse by having there be multiple ones?

Kirux's grip on him tightened.